Thursday, March 01, 2012

Veterans advocates say a Conservative MP on the Commons veterans
affairs committee slept through their presentation about efforts to help
homeless former soldiers.

Jim Lowther, president of
Veterans Emergency Transition Services, said he couldn't believe it when
Calgary MP Rob Anders slept through the group's presentation at the
Commons veterans affairs committee on Tuesday in Halifax.

Lowther
said Anders came into the meeting 10 minutes late. "He was putting his
arms up and rubbing his face," explained Lowther. "Then he started
texting and then just slept for the rest.

"He almost smashed his head on the table, he was that out of it."

Too bad he didn't. Most veterans would have looked at the waste of skin and started laughing.

Liberal MP Sean Casey, who is on the committee, said Anders has
fallen asleep before at its meetings. "This happens fairly regularly at
veterans committee so it wasn't out of the ordinary," he said. "This
isn't the first time."

Casey said it is up to Anders to
offer an explanation. But he added: "I wouldn't for one minute accuse
him of falling asleep because he doesn't care, although I can see why
someone would come to that conclusion."

Let's just accept that a majority of veterans and serving personnel have already figured it out for themselves. The Harperites have good words followed by ... their actions.